At its spring meeting, the Whitman Board of Trustees elected three new members: Joe Davis '80, Barbara Feigin '59, and Steve Hammond '79. The 18-member volunteer board provides leadership to assist the college in pursuit of its mission.

Feigin attended Whitman thanks to scholarships and work grants after she and her parents escaped from Nazi Germany when she was a child.

"Whitman made it possible for me to turn my dreams into reality, and my Whitman experience transformed my life," she said. "I'm thrilled to be able to help forge a pathway to a vibrant future for Whitman, building on its strong and powerful legacy and ensuring its relevance in a rapidly changing environment-demographically, economically, technologically and culturally."

Feigin - a longtime Whitman overseer - is a retired executive vice president for Grey Advertising, where she helped pioneer consumer research techniques and worked on advertising campaigns for brands belonging to companies such as Procter and Gamble and Kraft.

Hammond also served as a Whitman College overseer for four years before being appointed as a trustee. A math and geology major, he works for the U.S. Geological Survey and cited his desire to give back to Whitman and to help support affordable education for future students as factors in his decision to volunteer his time to his alma mater.

Davis has been an overseer since 2004. "It seemed more than fitting that my next level of commitment would be the board," he said. "I hope to help the board, administration and faculty as the Whitman community begins to engage in how to provide an exceptional liberal arts education in a rapidly changing communications and digital world."

Reid has cited her interest in leadership, diversity and inclusion as one factor in her decision to volunteer as an overseer. "With the benefit of more than a little hindsight, I find my experience at Whitman to have been transformative, and I want to give back to the institution that I strongly feel gave me the skills and ability to succeed in life."

Anderson is still a resident of Walla Walla, serving as founder and CEO of the Walla Walla Foundry. "As an overseer and also as a resident of Walla Walla, my desire is to help shape the ties between Whitman and the local community," Anderson said. "Both have influenced me in meaningful ways and I feel the need to give back."

Burgener said he was honored to serve as a Whitman overseer: "Throughout my four years at Whitman, the college provided me with numerous opportunities to try new things and to expand my abilities both inside and outside the classroom. Those experiences gave me the skills and confidence that have played a large part in my success since graduating from Whitman."

Decades before he first set foot on campus, Jensen's great-grandmother was a custodian in Prentiss Hall. Jensen worked as a night watchman in that same building three generations later. "I would think about what my experience demonstrated about social mobility and opportunity in America. For every third-generation Whittie, there is someone who is the first in his or her family to go to college. Whitman changes people lives, how could you not want to be part of that?"

Jensen said that he encourages his classmates to make a gift to Whitman once per year, emphasizing that Whitman creates future leaders in an increasingly complex world.